New Year, new plans and what not!

Hello Friends,

It certainly has been a while since I got some time to put together some thoughts to share with you all. First things first, Compliments of the New Year! I am sure this year will be great, exciting and fulfilling. It takes you to create the kind of year that you want to have, so start early!

Since October 2013, I think that was the last time I sat down to write on the blog, a lot of things have happened. My personal life has evolved around being with our ever growing son, our creative and funny daughter and of course cutting some time out to be with my wife. The importance of spending time with our loved ones is something that many of us take for granted. We tend to get too consumed with trying to make things happen whilst negating some very important aspects of our lives. So yes I did manage to spend some time with the family in October. November and December where hectic but it was during those months that I managed to put together thoughts of how to move the organization forward and ensure that the work we have done in the past five years is consolidated and that we don’t lose track of the vision that God gave us years ago.

So 2014 has beckoned and now the weeks are just flying by. Talking to a friend after church last Sunday made me realize too that time is flying. After enquiring on his health, family and business I then asked him how the week was, looking me in the eye he said “man all I know it was a Monday and before long it was Friday”! We laughed at this but as I drove home from church, this made me ponder on the fact that indeed time waits for no man! So whatever we are doing, lets do it within the time frames we have and not fall into the trap of asking what happened to the time.

The Nhaka team in 2014 has grown. We have acquired more skills and expertise to improve on our operational efficiencies and to ensure that we are moving forward implementing quality programming that reaches out to the littlest and most vulnerable members of our country. As we move forward in 2014 my prayer is that all of our friends put their hands on the plough and do something to support the children who are living in difficult circumstances in this country. One newest staff members gave us a gentle reminder yesterday that our response to the plight of children in this country is not all about money but maybe just a simple gesture like a smile will change the day for some of these children.

Here is hoping that you all have a super 2014 and will try my best to stick to one of my 2014 resolutions which is to ensure that this blog is even more active unlike before!

Until next time,

Patrick

Assignment series-Conclusion

Dear friends,

I have had some awesome conversations in the past month as a result of this series. I am moved by what people have begun to do as a result of their seeking to fulfil the mandate they have here on earth. Being practical is the best and I encourage you to pay your rent on earth as it were!

I was battling on how to conclude this because as someone who realized his purpose and managed to start working at it at an early age, I always want to urge others to find fulfilment, joy and happiness in fulfilling their own purpose. Remember we all have different tasks that were set for us to accomplish. I will lean heavily on the Word of God in my conclusion. We were chosen by God before we were formed. The Lord made us and shaped us into the people we are. He knows our behaviour, our strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and our character. These unique personalities that we have should be used to achieve a specific purpose. God is going to use us for the fulfilment of His plan. Think for a moment when you try to be like someone . If you try to be someone else you then want to be a carbon copy of what is already in existence, in fact God doesn’t need you as someone else! You are trying to be a piece of the puzzle that God already has! So stop trying to be like someone, be you and fit into the puzzle the way God wants you to. You were made in a precise manner, for a specific purpose and only you will serve that purpose. When God made you, He wanted you, when He chose you, He wanted you!

So in conclusion, the understanding that I have no doubts about is that we all have been chosen as God’s treasure and for His purpose. Our destiny can be discovered and lived out as we walk in harmony with God our creator. Thus we can only know the true reason for our existence when we are close to Him and we allow Him to direct our path.

As the year comes to an end, I hope you have been on that path of living a life fulfilling your purpose? How have you been paying your rent of being on earth?

Until next time,

Patrick

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
-Winston Churchill

The Assignment series 2

Dear friends,

I hope this finds you all well. Well I was offline a bit pressure of work and other commitments related to my own life assignment! I am trusting that this second installment is finding you well on course to discover your purpose and reason for existence on this beautiful planet of ours. As they say, an apple does not fall far away from its tree and I would like to use that to make reference to the fact that your purpose lies inherently within you and it should be a struggle to find your passion and that will lead you to the reason for your very presence.

Friends, we are not passengers on a bus enjoying a free ride. To each one of us an account of how we spent our lives and time on earth will be demanded. How are you paying your rent? In other words how are you paying for your time on earth? My friends have always laughed when I ask them that question suffice to say that many of them have began to be engaged productively in giving back to communities in various ways. Some are donating books and library equipment to their former schools, some are paying school fees for the less privileged whilst some are putting aside time to mentor young men and women. What are you doing? I have grown to realize that the best gift to a person is not very expensive and does not need to be bought! Now that's really pushing it isn't it? Consider this, spending two hours mentoring a young person on life and different issues they will face as they grow older is a gift to that young person. Or spending one hour at your former school assessing the needs and finding gaps to assist is a gift to that school. Come on now, we all have a gift to give! We need to reach out to our communities with the little we have and make a difference through the same. What is your assignment?

Over the years I have been intrigued and fascinated by how my own world view has been shaped.Your  don't need to have a million bucks to change some circumstances. Just your heart and mind being in the right place is the million bucks you need. There is so much suffering in the world that is not necessary. Localizing this, there is so much suffering in Zimbabwe that is unwarranted. People have grown to be selfish each day...instead of looking out for the welfare of our neighbor, relative or friend we have grown accustomed to just thinking and looking out for our needs more than anything else. Anything to bring in the next dollar is all that people have been concerned about particularly in thin country. The past two days I was reflecting on how our traditional safety nets for the care and protection of the weakest and most vulnerable amongst us have been destroyed. How it was so easy in decades gone by to have a communal land holding that would be farmed by everyone in that community and the harvest channeled to the vulnerable members of that community. What happened?  Have we grown to be so sophisticated and complicated that we fail to respect and respond to the needs of others?

I am almost at a stage where I can pick up a second assignment....maybe I would work to revitalize these safety nets and bring back the glory of the lost decades where it would be impossible to find a poor person or even an "orphan" in a community. Hmmmm sounds like a big enough challenge!

Since the good people are doing nothing, the perpetuation of the poverty cycle in our country and beyond continues.

I am thoroughly blessed by the feedback and responses I have received on issues raised in the blogs and I am encouraged by the fact that these are starting some small fires that hopefully will lead into bigger conversations and actions. Gone are the days of folding hands and not doing anything because you think you are not qualified enough or don't have the material or financial resources. Remember God does not call the qualified but He qualifies the called! Be a willing vessel and reach out.

Have a super week friends,

Until next time,

Patrick

" A thousand years from today I don't want to be known for the cars, houses or the size  of my bank accounts but I want to be known for the difference I would have made in my time" 

Patrick Makokoro 2008

The Assignment 1

The Assignment Series 1

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you all well. The jacaranda trees are in full bloom once again as it is that time of the year. As an avid gardener I also love seeing the various flowers blooming and giving colour to gardens. This always points back to how great our Creator is and how everything responds in due season. I have been working through some very interesting life lessons that I will be sharing with you all.

Talking about seasons the journey continues. I continue to be amazed by the various things that happen in the day to day lives of us humans. Tragedies befall us, we lose houses, family members, jobs and other trappings of this world just with a blink of an eye. As we go through painful moments we should always be delighted in the Glory of God and also be able to know that we are here for a purpose. The past two months I have also bee doing a bit of introspection on my own assignment on earth and how I have been fulfilling it.  Remember that each one of us is here for a purpose, to help somebody somewhere! You may actually be someone who brings healing to someone sick, be the lifejacket for someone who is drowning, lifting someone who has fallen and giving a solution to a problem. So we are all a solution to the equation.

How we play a part in that solution is in my view what matters. A beautiful question to always ask is “why was I born? It’s a lovely question whose answer exists and is very clear. You were created for an exclusive purpose and reason! In earlier posts I have always mentioned that we all need to align ourselves to that purpose and everything else then falls into place. Your very function in life should be different from others. When you look and compare a golf ball and a sandwich you see the hardness of one and the softness of the other. Functionality and purpose is different! Thus the purpose differs for each one of us.  So step number 1 is you need to know what your assignment is. It is important that you align yourself to the reason for your existence.

Remember your function is different from that of others!

Look out for the Assignment series 2

Until next time,

Patrick

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
-Desiderata

Being a blessing

Dear friends,

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning thinking about how it can be so easy to be a blessing to the lives of people around us. I was thinking about he various situations that I have gone through in life and how at each of those opportunities it was going to be easy either to say the right thing that lifts someone up or say the opposite that leaves a person with a heavy heart and negativity.

We are all created uniquely and it is through this uniqueness that we should be able to complement each other across gender, race, colour or even ethnic divide. I always say that there is more that unites us as human beings than what divides us. The challenge is always then when one person sees himself or herself more highly than the other people or a case of the Animal Farm where some animals are more equal than others.

A few days ago whilst sharing with some colleagues at work, I mentioned that all it takes for the human race to advance in a manner of dignity and respecting other people’s rights is when we all decide to love the next person. There are various arguments that people put forward as to why inequality exists but outside these reasons we should all be able to assist the person next to us, be able to reach out to the poor people and be of good cheer.

I have come across people who find it very difficult to give something! Whether it is giving off of your time, paying for education, giving food, advice, mentorships etc. We all have something to give and through giving we will be unlocking great value not only in ourselves but in those people that we are reaching out to.

This morning I was also reflecting on what kind of trail I want to leave behind on the people that I meet on a daily basis…what sort of impression do you leave? Are they going to be happy or dejected? Whether you're on the phone or on the Internet with them, or you're in an appointment, or whether it's a casual contact, or it's with your mate, or your roommate, or your son or your daughter, or you parents, what kind of gift could you give them on this occasion? Too often we look at it the other way, "What gift can they give me?" We go looking to them for some attention, or information, or affection. What connection does this person have that I could use? What promotion could they give me? What money could they give me? Well, this doesn't talk about living for you to impart to me. It's about me imparting to you.

So friends, we are out there to impart something in the lives of others. Rekindle the dying flame. Many people are suffering, outwardly they may look fine and that all is hunky dory but deep down they are hurting etc…it thus is important for us to be able to speak into the lives of people and leave them better off than they were.

Friends, find an excuse to be a blessing in the lives of people around you!

 Be blessed!

 Until next time,

Patrick

Romans 1:11: Apostle Paul says to the Roman Christians, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong."

Zim elections-Moving forward

Dear friends,

This post comes after our much awaited harmonized elections that saw the electorate voting for their ward councillors, members of parliament and president. The hotly contested election came after 4 years of a government of national unity in which the former opposition had joined forces with the long serving party in Zimbabwe. Though at times dysfunctional, this unity government managed to bring a lot of stability into the economy, health, education and other sectors. The general populace began to put some faith and trust into the systems of government and this led to peace prevailing in the country.

The elections have now come and gone, results favour one party whilst losing parties are crying foul of the results that obviously did not go the way they thought. I was terribly surprised at the results of this election, judging by the mood, hype and excitement that the electorate had, I was bracing for a radical change in governance and with keen interest awaited the future that lay ahead for the country. The doom and gloom that has characterized the country in the past few days post the elections is evidence of a people whose hopes have been dashed.

Those who have followed the Zimbabwean story, know that the past 13 or so years have been very tough for the ordinary Zimbabwean, particularly when we look at the macro economic environment prevailing at that time. Bread and butter issues have been on the mindsets of Zimbabweans on a daily basis and hope lay in the election of a fresh government, untainted by corruption scandals, patronage systems and abuse of institutions of government. Therein lay the hope of the masses, that a new government would restore their dignity, restore the country to be a breadbasket and that the former glory of the country would be revealed once again.

Well, that did not happen as envisaged and a dark cloud hovered over the country as election results were being announced. Was this the will of the people? Where is God in all this? How are we going to survive the next five years? These are questions I heard many a Zimbabwean postulate. I, too have had so many questions, many of which remain unanswered. Zimbabweans are a docile lot, why don’t they take to the streets to protest, why don’t they unseat the elected government? These are some suggestions that I have heard from various ones as they ponder over the Zim electoral crisis as it were.

I humbly submit here and now, that Zimbabweans are not a docile lot, Zimbabweans know too well that taking to the streets will lead to the governing party unleashing various arms of state security onto the people, killing, maiming and torturing them in the process. Zimbabweans know too well that the end is in sight, that whatever repression they face has an end date, that the answer to what is being called a crisis lies entirely in the hands of our Creator and all will be done to glorify Him. In God we trust!

Until next time,

Patrick

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
-Anne Frank

Reflections of times gone by

Dear friends,

Another year has been added to my life today and I am so grateful. To those that have watched me grow and develop into the man I have become, they can attest to how this life has been a testimony of the grace, mercy and love of our Lord Jesus. Having been picked up from the miry clay as it were, my life has become a symbol of hope for many orphans, widows and families living in difficult circumstances. With this thought comes the heavy burden on my shoulders to carry on, diligently, passionately and with no excuse in serving those that need help and in creating relationships that foster the growth and development of the next person.

I am grateful too that more than a decade ago I managed to identify the will of God for my life and that in living and executing that purpose, I have traversed the world, been far and wide and have gone through a lot of experiences that at times make me feel older than my age. For that too I am grateful! When life gives us lemons, we should make the best lemonade there is on the land. Being a product of hardworking parents who instilled a lot of discipline, focus and love, I am glad and very honoured to be a father to my two children, who is also able with the help of God, instil the same values to my own children. Further more, being married to a true pillar of strength, a loving, compassionate and thoughtful wife who balances me out in every single way makes the journey more enjoyable.

At this point in my life, the journey continues with expectations of what lies ahead. Great expectations of what God has in store. I am delighted and very happy of the path I have been led too, mind you the path has been fraught with some experiences I would not have chosen for myself but through them, been able to appreciate what life really is about. Certainly not about fame, riches and luxuries but about living and executing the purpose that lies within us all. For we are each uniquely created, gifted and are duty bound to make this world a better place for future generations.

I am grateful for the supportive wife and family, friends, accountability partners, mentors, Pastors and support systems that keep me away from trouble! As we each trudge along on the journey of life, lets remember that all we do points towards the legacy we will leave after we pass on.

God bless you!

Patrick

We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race.
-Cicero